As we mark the end of another remarkable school year, I find myself reflecting on what an extraordinary privilege it has been to serve as Principal of THINK Global School. When I stepped into this role, I was immediately struck by the warmth of the community. From my very first days, I felt welcomed, supported, and embraced by its students, families, staff, alums, and Board. And for that, I am...
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This statement is a cornerstone of my thinking when serving students, families, and staff. It can be a challenge for people to leave what they have known in the past. The anxiety many of us feel about change is a good thing. It often protects us. But it can also prevent us from evolving and developing. Thus our desire to improve always competes with our fear of the unknown.
How easily we ask others to change, while we find it much more difficult to make changes in our own lives. But if we have high expectations, we should apply them above all to ourselves. That’s why I always try to speak as if I am correct but listen as if I am wrong. By doing this I signal my own willingness to evolve and improve. I often think of the quote by Leo Tolstoy: “Many people have ideas about how others should change; few people have ideas about how they should change.”
As Head of School a great portion of my job focuses on asking others to make a change. I can speak from firsthand experience that change, development, and ultimately evolution are a naturally difficult and exciting part of life. The role of educator is a daily adventure in moving students from one point to another in their knowledge and views of the world.
At THINK Global School we are evolving and will continue to evolve. This is a young school that has a plan to develop and change in order to meet the daily realities of our lives here in Ecuador. The students, teachers, residential staff, and I have learned from our trip to the Galapagos Islands that every step the school takes is part of an effort in the current and future evolution of THINK Global School.
TGS Students With Ecuadorian Author Maria Virginia Farinango
